I always found this topic interesting. Thinking about it, if you take out throat shots, then howcome blokes in the ufc (who hit a lot harder than most people out there biffing in the pub do) never kill eachother after big haymakers, elbows or kicks?

A punch could knock someone, dropping their temple onto the curb, or an object such as a table, leading to death, internal bleeding etc. But I would question as to whether the punch itself could do so. Mainly based on the lack of (really) serious head injuries in professional fighting.

Then again if bob sapp superman punched a librarian I wouldnt be so sure of what I just said. Tough one

Well, the first reason is the level of impact is severely reduced with a padded fist vs a 2 knuckle strike.

Remember, force is inversely proportional to the area of contact, that means a full power connection is reduced by 50% or more when a padded fist is compared to the area of 2 knuckles. That doesn't even take into account the padding which absorbs some of the impact as well.

Still, with all the "protection" guys are dropped in single blows, so it's not a stretch that an unprotected hand could cause enough blunt force trama (thank you NCIS) to cause death.

It's not easy, and by no means a guarantee, but certainly quite possible.

As for elbows, a grounded opponent with a full force inward (but striking down)elbow, I could see that being quite deadly. Knees worry me more though only because guys shoot in, and a perfectly timed knee to just the right part of the skull...yikes. And that is legal in the UFC.

Legs, not so sure, a stomp absolutely, but kicks tend to land with a large surface area as well, or by the time they reach the height of the head, acceleration is often not at it's peak.

Of course there are kickers who could deliver something up high with tremendous acceleration, but landing it would be quite a challenge.

It's all about intent, and that was part of the reason I posted the link.

Nobody, the law included, considers a single punch from a naked fist, to be a lethal action by intent. If it had been proven to be a lethal form of attack, than every stupid bar fight would lead to attempted murder charges.

The vast collated medical and law enforcement data regarding punch related injury shows it to be, in essence, a non-lethal action. Despite what some karate practitioners may say to the contrary.

The vast collated medical and law enforcement data regarding punch related injury shows it to be, in essence, a non-lethal action. Despite what some karate practitioners may say to the contrary.

Quite true, and I would think most people who throw a punch are not even considering the outcome would be death. But when you take to violence and it's not clear cut self defense you are still responsible for the outcome.

I think in the US he would have been convicted on voluntary manslaughter.

Quote:

Voluntary manslaughter occurs either when the defendant kills with malice aforethought (intention to kill or cause serious harm), but there are mitigating circumstances which reduce culpability, or when the defendant kills only with an intent to cause serious bodily harm.

I think US/UK law is somewhat similar on this matter, his sentence would have been 3-18 years according to one state guidelines.